Obituary of Eileen M. Metzner

Eileen M. Metzner On August 20, 2011, Eileen (Peggy) Metzner passed away in her home in Culpepper Garden, Arlington, Virginia. Born Eileen Margaret Dollard, she descended from Irish men and women who had found their way from central Ireland to New York City, and was a native of the Bronx, New York. She was the third of the six children of Michael and Mary Dollard. Peggy was famous for her irrepressible sense of humor which most likely came through that Irish lineage. Her ability to see humor in almost any situation and to get a laugh out of anyone never flagged, not even in the last sixteen years of her life, as she struggled with chronic, debilitating pain stemming from osteoporosis. She was eighty-two years old and is survived by three daughters, three sons-in-law, six grandchildren, her only surviving brother and his wife, a sister-in-law and fifteen nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband and a daughter. Peggy also leaves behind a legion of close friends who cherish their memories of a good listener, a loving friend and a great beauty. Peggy spent more years on Long Island, raising a family, than anywhere else. There, she put her heart and soul into guiding her daughters through childhood and adolescence, helping her husband to meet daunting challenges and cultivating everlasting friendships. There also she enjoyed ten unforgettable summers sailing the waters of the Peconic Bay, boating with family and friends. Her home was ever alive with impromptu parties, dinners, neighborhood children and danceable music. But it was also on Long Island where she lived through the shattering experience of her second daughter’s illness and death in 1965, at the age of nine. In the early 1950s and before having children, Peggy worked at J.P. Maguire in Manhattan, alongside her sister Mary, her brother Jim and several close friends. She left the firm to dedicate herself to her new family. Twenty-five years later, she returned to work and, always a bit ahead of the curve, she worked for ten years (1977-1987) at one of the country’s very first organic vitamin firms, Nature’s Plus, in Huntington, Long Island where she became a firm believer in holistic health. Peggy had the travel bug and flew to Ireland in 1992 to visit Urlingford, the town from which her father had departed in 1920, never to return. In Urlingford, she met more than 50 cousins for the first time and felt as if they had always been in her life. She also travelled to Rio de Janeiro, spent long periods of time in Spain and visited Puerto Rico, Antigua, the Bahamas, Barbados and Canada. An unforgettable beauty, a sharp sense of humor, a fabulous cook and dancer, as well as a loving friend, Peggy was, above and beyond anything else, a great mother, grandmother, mother-in-law and sister. This is where her heart really was and this is where she will be missed the most. Family and friends will celebrate Peggy’s life on Saturday, October 8th at the Sherwood Community Center in Fairfax, VA. A dedication mass will take place at Georgetown University’s Dahlgren Chapel at 11 am on Sunday, October 9th.